Vindicated
by Celestial-Divinity
Summary: Reia Black was introduced to the Widard world long ago, but her life changes drastically when she's transferred from a regular life to Hogwarts because of a special power she once thought of as a curse... Five years late. RR
1. In the Begining

"...This is rediculos..." Professor Snape said out loud.  
  
"Now, Severous, I believe I have already told you the importance of this situation," Dumbledore responded calmly, not taking his eyes off the entrance of the great hall.  
  
"We're trying to keep this girl's situation a secret, but I'm sure _no one_ will suspect _anything_ once she prods in twice the size of everyone else," Snape spat, his voice coated in sarcasm.  
  
"We've discussed this already. She's just a transfer, as far as they know," Filch said, leaning in to the conversation.  
  
The professors and Headmaster at Hogwarts all sat in a horizontal line, facing all four of the house tables in the Great Hall. The students at the tables chattered happily, most eagerly awaiting the feast and the Sorting Ceremony that was to start any moment now. Many of the professors were on edge due to the situation at hand: A Magid was to enter their school.  
  
Suddenly, the room came to a hushed silence. The doors of the Great Hall burst open and Professor McGonnagal trudged in, followed by what seemed like hundreds of eleven year-olds, waiting to be sorted into one of the four houses at Hogwarts: Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. They came to a stop at the front of the room, just in front of the professors. There, on a rickety wooden chair, sat a dusty, obviously very old hat. McGonnagal pulled several pieces of parchment from her robes and read the first line from the first piece.  
  
"Abigale Abbot."  
  
A rather petite girl stepped forward shyly. For a moment she just stared at the hat. A small boy eventually nudged her and she picked it up, placed it on her head, and sat down. The room watched in silence as the girl squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of the outcome of her fate.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
  
Applause from the table on the far left erupted into the room. The girl grinned and took her place with her house.  
  
Snape scanned the room._ "She should be obvious. There's no way she could possibly blend in with first years..."  
_  
And she didn't... A slow moving whisper gained strength in the room as it became aware of the fact that there was a girl, almost a woman, standing among those waiting to be sorted. She stuck out badly. Standing at about a foot taller than everyone else and dressed in burgundy robes was a girl about sixteen. Her hair, a golden blonde color, exceeded just a bit past her lower back. No one could really see the details of her face as she was standing at a reasonable distance from them, but it was obvious that she was a bit embarassed.  
  
Dumbledore stood up and the room was quiet again.  
  
"Hush, children. There is a Sorting Ceremony taking place as of now."  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Emerie Blacastonia," Professor McGonnagol called on the twelth name.  
  
_"Oh great, I'm next,"_ the blonde girl thought to herself.  
  
A boy with black hair and a huge grin on his face slid the Sorting Hat onto his head.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
  
Applause from the Slytherin table. Occasionally a "Malfoy Rules" could be heard amongst the cheering.  
  
"Reia Black."  
  
She took a deep breath and stepped forward. The room was once again silent. Sliding the Sorting Hat on to her head, she was suprized to find that this one spoke to her inside her mind.  
  
_"Well now!... Wait a moment... I do believe I know you... No, wait, you're a bit different...I know your brother. Ah, but you share many of his noble qualities. You are brave... You're kind as well... Ah! And also loyal! Good enough for a gryffindor, hmmm? I see that you're also very smart.. You could do well in Ravenclaw... Be that as it may, I think I'll put you in..."_ Reia took a deep breath...  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Relief. She exhaled. She wanted to be in Gryffindor. She was familliar with Gryffindor. She stood up and set the hat down to better hear the applause comming from one of the tables in the middle, decked out with gold and red, and made her way over to it.


	2. A Sudden Flashback

Reia thought for a moment about who she was... What she was. She was so different from all of these people. She was American and her Californian accent made that obvious. She was an orphan, with no one left in the world for het except her brother, who hasn't been accepted in society for a long time. She was also a magid, a freak, a mennace. Before she could even take in the fact that she was being talked to by everyone around her at the Gryffindor table, her mind instantly shot into a flashback.

"She WILL NOT go with you! I WONT allow it!" her father screamed.

"She will go with me. She's been here longer than nessessary. We all know about how this family has treated her since her gift has revealed itself. It won't continue," the bearded man said calmly.

"She's NOT GOING!!!"

Reia immediatly sat up from her slumber and sprinted downstairs to the source of the yelling. A few feet from the front door of her home was a rather tall man with white hair and a white beard, both of which reached his knees. He was clad in royal blue robes that trailed on the ground behind him. His was in a calm stance, his hands held in front of him. He looked over at her and smiled a warm smile that reminded her of hot tea on a rainy day.

"Father?" Reia said quietly, not taking her eyes off of the man. Her father turned around, a look of suprised mixed with rage on his face. The look made her flinch. She hated that look.

"...Go back to bed..." he muttered, obviously trying to keep calm in front of the stranger. Reia turned to go back up the stairs, but the voice she heard from her bedroom, the bearded man's voice, spoke first.

"Reia, good evening. My name is Albus Dumbledore. I believe there are a few things we should talk about before you go back to your bedroom." Reia turned around and looked at the man, not realizing that her father's fists clenched at his sides. "May I ask that you spare a moment of your time?" She couldn't help but think that the man seemed humble, a source of peace. She began to walk towards him, but before she could take two steps, a fist connected to a rather muscular arm she knew as her father's came ripping through the air in front of her. A searing pain shot through her left cheekbone and sent her flying into the wall behing her... Her world darkened and the last thing she saw before she passed out was the front door flying open and a hooded man whose face was not visable throwing her father across the living room.


	3. A Not So Sudden Flashback

"Is your last name really Black?"

"Hi, Reia! My name's Seamus Finnigan. Pleasure to have you in Gryffindor!"

"How old are you?"

"You're not really a first year, are you?"

"Well she can't be! Look at her!"

"Good to meet you, Reia."

"Welcome to Gryffindor!"

Reia blinked. Suddenly she became very aware of her surroundings and immediatly shook herself out of her flashback.

"Hey! Are you alright?" a red-headed boy asked. There must have been at least twenty people around her, asking her questions at the same time, but she answered only this one.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks," she muttered, feeling a bit sick. The only thing she could do was sit at her place on the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and stare at her plate.

"Students, please, there are still first years to be sorted..." Dumbledore said, standing up. The room settled and Professor McGonnagal went on with the list of names.

"Morris Blades."

"So, what year are you in, really?" the girl who introduced herself as Padma asked.

"Oh, I'm a sixth year," Reia replied. The Sorting Ceremony was over now, but everyone was feasting in the Great Hall.

"Why are you being sorted into a house during your sixth year?" a girl named Ginny asked.

"Well... My family didn't really... approve of my being a Witch... So I was never really able to come here until a few months ago when Professor Dumbledore came to my house."

"He came to your house?!" another boy asked. "Why did he wait five years to do it?"

Reia didn't answer this question. She couldn't really think of a proper responce to say without being made an outcast for the rest of her life in the Wizarding world. Once again, her mind buckled and she found herself in the second half of her flashback...

Her face ached before she even opened her eyes. Rolling over, she discovered that the pain didn't stop at her cheekbone. Her entire body was in pain, and suddenly she remembered why. Her father had hit her, like so many times before. He hated her for who she was, for what she was. But it wasn't always like this. As a matter of fact, she could vividly remember a time when her parents both loved her. It was before she knew about her power and before she knew that she was adopted as a baby. She was happy for nine years of her life, that was until strange things began to happen...

She couldn't explain the strange things. She would think about something and it would happen. Her parents couldn't explain them either for a long time, so Reia was left alone. Then one day, her parents got a letter that was just laying outside their front door. She didn't know much about what it said except for the fact that it explained who she was and what she was... where she came from. It wasn't signed properly, either. It only said that it was from the only other living member of her biological family, her brother. Her parents became abusive after that day, both verbally and physically. She was treated like a servant, and when she didn't do something properly, she was hit.

On the day of her eleventh birthday, another letter was on the porch outside the front door. She wasn't allowed to read it, but whatever it was, it was bad. She was hurt badly by her father for reasons she knew nothing about, and her mother helped by insulting her the entire time. It was never spoken of again, but Reia thought about it a lot. As a matter of fact, she was actually introduced to the Wizarding world about a month after that (without her family's knowledge, of course) when a black cat showed up outside her bedroom window. She was startled by it, obviously (especially when it transformed into an elderly woman with a pointed hat and introduced itself as Professor McGonnagal), but eventually she became accepting of the world.

Professor McGonnagal tutored her for five years in secret. They would do lessons at night and Reia was amazed by the fact that there were thousands more Witches and Wizards like her. However, no one ever explained to her why she wasn't able to go and live among them, why she had to stay in the human world and fill out her days with her adopted family...

This thought made her eyes flutter open. She suddenly realized that she was warm.. that there was a blanket on her. The searing pain in her face did not go away, however. She looked around. She was laying sideways on a bed facing a white wall. The bed was small, but the sheets were soft and warm. She sat up, but the fast movement caused her cheek to throb even more than it was before. She sucked in air through her teeth, reacting to the awful feeling.

"Oh, here, let me help you," came a man's voice in the corner of the room, behind her. Startled, she jumped back on the bed, but he didn't notice. He stood up and went through the door across from her. A few seconds later he came back with the white-haired man called Albus Dumbledore, who walked in the door smiling.

"Ah, Reia, it is good to see you awake," he said moving forward. At his movement, Reia scooted back on the bed even more. "Do not be afraid. You needn't worry. No one will be able to hurt you any longer."

Of course, his statement made Reia think of her family and she became frantic. "My family... What did you do with them?!"

"Relax, Reia, your family is fine. If you recall from yesterday, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I am a friend of the Witch who has been tutoring you for some time, Minerva McGonnagal."

At the mention of her name, Reia's eyes widened, but suddenly she felt very safe. These people knew the woman who taught her magic, which ment that they were also members of the magic world. "You know the Professor?"

He smiled. "Yes, I do. I am, in fact, the Headmaster at the school in which she is a professor, Hogwarts."

"Have you come to take me there?"

"Yes, I have. I have also come to bring you news of who your real family is and who you are."

The man from before shifted his weight uneasily where he was standing, which was a few feet away from the bed. Dumbledore pulled a chair up to the bed and sat in it, facing Reia.


	4. The Gift

For a moment, Reia was dumbfounded. Who her real family was? What was he talking about? Did he mean to tell her that the people she knew as "mother and father" weren't really her parents at all?

"Reia, I know that in your mind, you are Reia O'Malley, but that is not the truth. I know that for the last sixteen years, you've thought of yourself as the child of Richard and Melinda, born in the United States, but these beliefs are just the product of the lies your parents have been telling you for years. You were adopted, child, when you were just a baby."

There was nothing the shocked young girl sitting under the covers on the bed could have done or said. She was speechless at the fact that everything she had known for the past sixteen years was a lie. She just sat there, staring at the old man with her mouth slightly open. It wasn't until a few moments later that she could get a few words out.

"...My mother... was..." she stuttered.

"You're mother's name was Bella Black. She was married to a man named Ignatious Black, both of which were highly respected members of the pureblooded community because their history is ancient," Dumbledore said softly.

"Are they dead?"

"Yes, my dear. I'm sorry."

"Why did they adopt me out?"

"Although your family was well-off economically, they were all Deatheaters, I'm sorry to say." The man behind Dumbledore coughed loudly from where he was standing and Dumbledore appologized. "Most of your family were Deatheaters, and the Deatheaters had a community of their own. They mostly socialized with eachother..." Reia nodded, remembering the stories Professor McGonnagal told her about Lord Voldemort and his Deatheaters... "Your mother had an affair, Reia. Ignatious Black is not your father."

For a moment, there was only silence. And then suddenly, all the confusion came together in Reia's mind and she understood. "She adopted me out because Ignatious didn't approve... He knew I wasn't his baby." Dumbledore nodded.

"Your father was a man named Derrek McCain. He, too, was a Deatheater, and you are his daughter."

"Why didn't Derrek take me?"

"Because Derrek wasn't what modern society would call 'a good person.' He disappeared as soon as he found out your mother was pregnant."

"So why didn't she give me up to a magic family?"

"...Reia, remember, your mother was a Deatheater... That says a lot about her character right away, as you might imagine. Unfortunately, she didn't pay enough attention to you to even care about your well-being. She hated your father after he left her with you. Therefore, she hated you... I'm sorry, my dear."

This information was shocking, of course, to Reia, but it didn't hurt her the way it would have someone else. She didn't even know her mother was her mother (up until five minutes ago) much less, care about what she thought of her. She had always thought she was Melinda's daughter. She was disappointed her mother wasn't alive or had been a beautiful, kind person, however it wasn't worth fretting over if she wasn't.

"This still doesn't explain why I haven't been able to go to Hogwarts for the past five years..." she said after thinking, a bit of a harsh tone in her voice.

"There are different types of Witches and Wizards in our world, child. There are what we call Purebloods, magic folk who's parents were both posessed the gift, there are those who's parents are not magic at all, and there are those with one of each. Your line has been pureblooded since the ancient times, Ms. Black. Every ounce of liquid in your veins in 100% magic... Now, this trait is highly respected in our community, but on rare occasions, either flaws or gifts will surface. You, my dear, have a gift... A very precious gift that is so rare, it's nearly unheard of. Not even talked about. Only those who have studied magic for a long time and believe in it know about it..."

Reia's heart was pounding in her chest.

"You, Reia Black, are a magid."


	5. Family

"Magid... What in the bloody hell is a Magid?" Reia asked, some of her stress seaping to the surface.

"You can perform magic without a wand, you have the ability to communicate to creatures muggles would call 'mythical,' and on rare occasions, you can telepathically communicate with other Magids. It's quite impressive."

This... They've got to be kidding me... They honestly think I'm telepathic and telekenetic? Oh yeah, and I can talk to animals... If my parents knew about this...

That's when the thought finally dawned on her. Those people weren't her parents anymore. She wasn't spawn of those horrible, sad excuse for parents! Granted, she was the product of two Deatheaters' affair, but at least she didn't have to deal with that on a daily basis. She never had to see them again. She was free...

And then like fire, the memory of a hooded man throwing her father across her living room burned into her mind fast.

"What happened to my fa-- Richard? I only remember someone slamming him into a wall..."

"I understand you care about the well being of him--"

"I don't care about the well being of that bastard! I just don't want him to be dead!"

"He is fine, child. Only a bit banged up from what Sirius here has done to him."

Reia glanced over at the man a few feet from the bed. He was bearded and had unkempt brown hair to his shoulders. He was tall, thin and strong, but his limbs looked tired. His eyes were beautiful, and somehow reminded her of her own. A royal blue shade with enough silver in them to make them shine like a storm, yet they were different. Colder then hers, perhaps. This was an odd thing to see for Reia. With everything she had been through in her life, her own eyes were the coldest she had ever seen until now... But just then he looked at her, and the look in his eyes was something she hadn't seen directed towards her in a long time. It reminded her of the way a mother looked at her baby. It was... love. She stood up, knowing Dumbledore was about to introduce the two.

"Reia, this is Sirius Black... Your brother."

The man stared at her for a moment, as if he was remembering something about her from long ago, and hesitated to move. Reia was astonished. She had never known that she had a brother. It was something she desired, yes, but not something she expected.

Suddenly, without warning, the man moved forward quickly and Reia flinched as he raised his arms toward her. But instead of hitting her like she expected, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders in the first hug she had experienced in years. It felt wonderful, especially after she was braced for being knocked to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," was all he said while she stood there in the arms of her brother.


	6. Roomies

Regardless of whether she wanted to or not, Reia blinked and the first meal at Hogwarts was coming to an end. She didn't even know how long she had been shot backward in her mind, but now there were no people left in the Great Hall, with the exception of a teacher with greasy black hair and a pointed nose who was preoccupied with his shoe, and a girl. She was pretty, with short black hair cropped at her shoulders. She didn't seem very tall, maybe five foot two, and she looked about sixteen as well. She was staring straight back at Reia, just as Reia was her. And then very abruptly, the girl stood up from her table and walked over to her.

"You're a Black?" the girl said, a bit of a harsh tone in her voice.

"That's what they tell me," Reia replied, trying to keep polite.

"You're related to Sirius Black?"

Reia nodded.

"THE Sirius Black? The man convicted of murder and sent to Azkaban, the place where he escaped?"

"He didn't murder anyone. And yes, erm, he's my brother, or half brother."

The girl paused to study Reia's face for a moment, and Reia did the same. She was just as pretty up close as she was far away. Her nose was small and slightly pointed up, her lips were a bright red color (probably from the dessert), her eyes were chocolate brown, and her cheeks were a bit flushed. She had a slightly muscular build and was wearing black robes and black pants. The look on her face resembled someone who was extremely annoyed, but the look vanished as soon as her own brown eyes scanned over Reia's blue ones. Once she saw them her expression immediatly changed to astonishment.

"What?" Reia asked, slightly bewildered.

In responce, the girl regained her posture, turned around, and left through the entrance to the Great Hall.

For the life of her, Reia couldn't figure out why the girl acted the way she did, but something was familliar about her. It wasn't in her attitude or appearance, but something more specific...

"What are you still doing here?"

Startled, Reia looked up to see a boy about fifteen standing over where she sat.

"I, um, well..."

The boy signed. "C'mon, I'll show you to the Gryffindor Common Room."

As they walked in silence, Reia tried her best to remember the way, but it was difficult. There were so many twists and turns (and much to her suprise, staircases that moved) that she began to blend them together in her mind. When they did, however, reach the Common Room, there was a large painting at the door.

"Password!" the lady on the painting asked. Reia remembered that in this world, paintings could move and talk, from what McGonnagal had told her.

"Dumple crump," the boy announced, and the painting swung open, revealing a doorway. It was what was inside that amazed her, though. Directly across from her, about fourty feet away, was a huge fireplace that still burned bright and warm. There were scarlet couches and chairs that surrounded it on top of a beautiful and intricately decorated rug, comprised mainly of the colors red and gold. On either sides of the room were two vast staircases made of white marble, partially covered with a rug of the same manner as the first. The celing was high and of a rich gold color.

The boy came from behind her and pointed to the staircase on the left. "That's the girl's dorm... What's your name again?"

"Reia Black."

He took out a piece of parchment and unfolded it, unveiling a long list of names seperated into groups. His finger moved down it as he scanned, finally pointing. "Ah, Reia, you're in dorm number seventeen. I don't know where that is as I've never been up there before, but the rooms are in order from one to... Whatever the last one is. I'm sure you wont have any trouble."

"Thank you," Reia said quietly, moving for the left staircase. She climbed it to the top and looked around. It was just a large hallway with numbers on the large wooden doors. When she came to number seventeen, it took her a moment to regain her composure. Finally, she opened the door.

It was a bit dark inside, but otherwise it was full of loud talking that hushed as soon as she stepped in. Reia looked at the three girls, all sitting on their own beds that stared straight back at her. After a bit of an awkward silence, when her eyes finished focusing in the darkness, she realized that the girls were silent because they were scared. She could tell by the looks on their faces. Instinctively, she whirrled behind her, quickly scanning the empty hallway to make sure no one was there, only to find that what the three were afraid of wasn't in the hallway. It had just entered their room... They were afraid of her.

"Erm," she cleared her voice and shut the door behind her. "I'm Reia Black. I guess I'm going to be your roommate." The girl with the bed in the corner only looked more afraid.

Although it seemed like there was no movement in the room, the girl with the bed closest to the door looked from one scared girl's face to the other and then stood up, glaring at the two of them.

"Oy, I'm Jo. Sorry about these two, they think you're a murderer." She winked and went over to turn on the light. As soon as she did, Reia realized that her hair was about five different colors, mostly blue. Jo noticed her looking at it and laughed.

"Yeah, it was a spell gone wrong. 'Happened last year, but I can't get it to look any different."

She pointed to the canopy bed in the opposite corner of the room next to a large window. "I suppose that's your bed, what since the others are taken and all."

"It's fine," Reia said, walking over to her bed and setting down her bags. "Are you all sixth years, too?"

"Yeah, they don't put us in with any other age group. You're with your own kind," Jo replied. Reia noticed that she was a thin girl, average height, with a face that seemed to be in either a constant look or sarcasm or extreme humor. "By the way, that's Jean and Zoila. They're not bad, they're just a bit afraid of you is all." She leaned in and cupped her mouh with her hand as if they couldn't hear her. "It's an act. They want your money!"

And then suddenly, a pillow coming from Jean's general direction was hurled at Jo's face and they were at it. Reia didn't join in the pillow fight, although she found it rather amusing. She just knew that she wasn't very good with people and she didn't want to ruin the delight of the moment.

When they finished, all of them were fast asleep long before Reia was. She stayed awake to think about what tomorrow would be like. Suddenly, a memory flashed into her mind of Sirius telling her that on her second day there, she was to meet him in a part of the Forbidden Forest, a forest she was told had all kinds of creatures in it. He said he had something imporant to tell her...


End file.
